


You give me butterflies

by thewolvescalledmehome



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Valentine's Day, lil bit of angst, reference to past unhealthy relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 14:46:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17789366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewolvescalledmehome/pseuds/thewolvescalledmehome
Summary: Sansa is perfectly content to spend her Valentine's Day alone, but when her mother calls her to keep an eye on Rickon while everyone else is out celebrating, those plans change drastically.





	You give me butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> I had a snow day and this popped out.

For the first time, Sansa would be spending Valentine’s Day alone. All throughout high school, she spent it receiving carnations and candy boxes, kissing boys before she got on the bus. In college, she spent it going on fancy dates, sipping red wine, receiving roses and jewelry. And then after she graduated and she realized half of those relationships weren’t healthy, so she decided she needed to try being on her own.

Which meant for the first time, at age twenty-three, Sansa was single on Valentine’s day.

She had it all planned out: she would rent a few movies, buy a few face masks, order a pizza, and turn off her phone. She would completely ignore the rest of the world and focus on herself.

She would have no interaction with any guys aside from the ones on her TV screen.

* * *

Sansa was in the aisle looking at all the face masks, debating what she wanted her skin to look like: twenty-four karat gold or mountain fresh, when her phone rang.

“Hi, Mum,” she answered, cradling her phone between her ear and her shoulder.

“Hi, dear. How’re you?”

“Fine. What’s up?”

“Your father and I had a favor to ask you.”

“Shoot.”

“Arya said you don’t have any plans for tomorrow…”

“Just movies and face masks, why?”

“I’m surprising your dad with a little weekend get-away. We’re going to stay at the same hotel we did before we had Rickon.”

“Oh, gross,” Sansa groaned, no longer interested in the face masks.

“It’ll be our first weekend away in sixteen years,” Catelyn continued.

“Mum.”

“Can you stay at the house tomorrow and keep an eye on Rickon? Make sure he doesn’t have any girls over or you know, try to do flaming shots or something?”

“You want me to babysit my sixteen-year-old brother on Valentine’s Day?” Sansa asked, skeptical.

“Well, not babysit… Just… keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

She pulled her phone away from her face and stared at it. She knew Catelyn had a point: she had three siblings who would take absolute advantage of the empty house on Valentine’s Day, and two of them were adults. Rickon was the third.

Then something dawned on her.

“Wait, are you telling me I’m the only one without plans tomorrow?” she nearly shrieked.

“Robb and Jeyne are going out, Bran’s at school, and Arya’s visiting Gendry.”

“What about Jon? Surely he doesn’t have plans.”

“Actually, he does. Ned said he has a date.”

 _Of course, he does,_ Sansa thought. Jon didn’t date all through high school, but the one day she had plans to be alone, he has a date and gets her stuck babysitting.

“Yeah, I guess, I can. Why not,” she mumbled, grabbing a few face masks. “He’s paying for my pizza though.”

* * *

Sansa showed up to her parents’ house with her bag full of old chick flicks, face masks, and a bottle of wine.

“Sansa? What’re you doing here?” Rickon asked as soon as she dumped her stuff in the kitchen.

“Ordering pizza. Your treat,” she said, tossing him the landline.

“Mum and Dad asked you to babysit me, didn’t they?”

“Might have,” Sansa shrugged, opening the wine.

“Don’t they trust me?” he muttered, pulling out his phone.

“What’re you doing?”

“Texting Lyanna not to come over.” Sansa sighed.

“Of course you are,” she huffed, pouring herself a glass.

“Hey, can I have some?”

“Absolutely not,” she said, walking away. “Hey! Don’t forget to order the pizza!” she yelled over her shoulder.

* * *

Sansa was well into her wine, on her second movie, and her first face mask when she heard the garage door go up.

She groaned, pausing the movie.

“Seven save me, Rickon,” she muttered mutinously, heading upstairs to where she could still hear Rickon’s music pounding. “Hey!” she yelled, pounding on the door. When there was no response, she shoved it open.

“What the hell?” Rickon shouted over the music. “Don’t you knock?”

“Oh, you’re here.”

“Where else would I be?”

“I heard the garage door.”

“And you immediately assumed I was sneaking out?”

“I… no.”

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“Seven hells,” she mumbled, closing the door.

Sansa tromped back downstairs, assuming it must’ve been the sub pump kicking on or something, until she saw someone in the kitchen.

“ _Jon_?” she asked, suddenly hyperaware of the gold sheet mask she had on her face that made her look like a serial killer. “I thought you had a date.”

“I thought I did too,” he mumbled, pulling a beer from the fridge.

Sansa and Jon had never been close, but she spent enough time around him to recognize that tone of voice.

“What happened?” She hopped up on the counter next to him and pulled another slice of pizza from the box.

“Got stood up.”

“On Valentine’s Day?”

“It appears that way.”

“Did she at least text?”

Jon swung his head to look at her. The dull pain in his grey eyes caused Sansa’s heart to soften.

Sansa knew Jon’s life had been rough. She knew her family was one of the few things he had to rely on and that he’d had his heart broken once already during university.

She hadn’t seen him since the holidays, and even then, it had just been in passing for the most part. She knew though he’d seemed at least… _content_ then. Not how he looked now.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Jon shrugged and took a swig from his beer.

“What’re you doing here? In…that?”

Sansa touched her mask, nearly having forgotten it.

“Babysitting Rickon.” Jon snorted.

“On Valentine’s Day?” he asked, repeating her earlier question.

“Best one I’ve had in years,” she said honestly.

“Wha… What’re you doing?”

“Watching romcoms, drinking wine, and eating pizza.”

“Can I join?” His voice was quiet, almost hesitant. Sansa glanced at him and saw how he was focused on the label of his beer bottle. He picked at the corner. Sansa suddenly flashed back to when he first showed up on their doorstep, ten years ago. He’d looked similar then.

“Of course. Want a face mask too?” she joked, nudging his shoulder with hers. He cracked a smile for the first time.

* * *

Sansa and Jon camped out on the couch. She had expected to hear some complaining about her movie choices, but Jon didn’t say a thing. He curled up on the other end and watched the movies quietly with her. It was peaceful and nice.

Halfway through their first movie together, Sansa was surprised to get a text from Robb.

**How’s Jon?**

_Dunno, fine? We’re watching_ Legally Blonde.

**Keep an eye on him, please? He really liked the girl who stood him up.**

_Sure thing._

* * *

Jon called it quits after the second movie, saying he was tired and going to bed. Sansa said good night to him, but something about the way he spoke and the way he moved had her concerned. She knew Jon internalized a lot of things because of his childhood. She also knew how personally he took rejection.

She knew after his break up last year, getting stood up the first time he put himself out there was probably rougher on him than it would be anyone else.

Sansa paused her movie and raced upstairs to pound on Rickon’s door.

“Hey, can I trust you?” she asked once he cracked it open.

“Well, given that you’re still here, I’m gonna go ahead and guess no.” Sansa rolled her eyes.

“Jon got stood up. I thought I’d take him out. Can I trust you’re not going to sneak someone in here?”

“Jon got stood up? On Valentine’s Day? Yeah, go ahead.”

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Hey, don’t you dare touch my wine!” she turned around to yell at his door.

“I wasn’t! I don’t even like sweet wines.”

“How’d—you know what, never mind. Don’t wanna know,” she mumbled, heading to her room.

She didn’t keep most of her things there anymore, mostly lounge clothes for the odd weekend she spent there or during the holidays, but she was sure she still had at least one cute outfit there.

Sansa dug deep into her closet and found a pair of jeans she could fit into and a sweater that looked nice enough with the jeans.

She didn’t keep any make up there, but her face at least was fresh and even.

Sansa thought she looked cute enough, but then she stopped fiddling with her hair in the mirror.

Why was she trying so hard to look cute for Jon? Wasn’t she just being friendly?

No, no, she _was_ just being friendly. She wanted Jon to have a good Valentine’s Day and if it meant looking cute, what was the harm?

This was no different than something Robb would do if he weren’t with Jeyne.

At least that’s what she told herself as she knocked gently on Jon’s door, hoping he hadn’t actually gone to bed yet.

“Sansa? Everything okay?” he asked, still in the clothes he came home in.

“We’re going out,” she declared.

“What?”

“C’mon, it’s only eleven. We still have a good hour of Valentine’s Day left.”

“What about Rickon?”

“He promised he’d behave,” Sansa shrugged.

“You want to take me out on Valentine’s Day?” he clarified.

“Yeah. I don’t want you to have a crappy day.”

“You’d do that for me?”

The quiet surprise in his voice pained her.

“Of course,” she whispered. “Some place has got to be open still. Let’s save your Valentine’s Day.”

His smile earlier had surprised her, when she’d made the joke about giving him a face mask, but the soft grin he had now had her grinning too.

* * *

Sansa ended up driving them to a twenty-four-hour diner that was a few blocks away. There were only a few other people there—an elderly couple and a group of girls that looked like they were refueling between bars.

The waitress directed them to a small window booth and laid menus in front of them.

“Can we interest you in the Valentine’s Day special, love birds? It’s good for another hour.”

“Yes, please, thank you,” Sansa said without looking at what it was.

“Sure thing.”

“Sansa, you realize they think we’re a couple?” Jon stage whispered. Sansa glanced over at their waitress, who winked at her. She nearly blushed at the idea but no—they were friends. And she was supposed to be taking the year off from guys. She still had a few months left.

“So?” she shrugged. “Would that be so terrible?” she asked, and she knew she was blushing now.

No, she wasn’t supposed to be doing this. And even so, Jon? After almost a year off of boys for the first time in ten years, _Jon_ was making her blush?

She glanced up and saw Jon awkwardly fiddling with the jelly packets. His face looked redder than it had when they walked in.

“I guess not,” he grumbled, voice gruff. “How’s your…year off been?” he asked quietly. Sansa looked at him sharply. “Robb and Arya mentioned it.”

“Fine,” she shrugged. “Did you know this is the first Valentine’s Day I’ve spent alone since I was twelve? I bought myself candy.”

“Maybe I should do that. Save myself the heartbreak.”

“Oh, Jon… There’s someone out there for you. You’ll find her eventually,” she murmured, knocking her knee gently against his under the table. She had the urge to reach out and take his hands, but she stopped herself. He was obviously still heartbroken from either his break up or being stood up. Or both.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Hey, you’re a good guy. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks, Sansa,” he whispered, stacking the jelly again.

The waitress came over then and put heart shaped stacks of pancakes with chocolate covered strawberries between them.

“There you are, darlings. Anything else I can get for you two?”

“No, thanks.”

“So, uh, this is romantic,” Jon chuckled, pulling a strawberry from the plate.

“It’s delicious,” Sansa corrected, cutting into the pancakes. “So, with the exception of earlier, what’d you typically do on Valentine’s Day?”

“Um, we used to go out.”

“You dated for three years. You didn’t have a tradition?”

“Not really. We’d go have a few drinks, get some food, go home…” he shrugged.

“What about since then?”

“Well, the first year, I got trashed. Last year a couple buddies and I went out and they tried to hook me up with someone. This year I got stood up.”

“I’m sorry, Jon.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he mumbled, dragging a piece of pancake around his plate. “What about you? What’d you used to do?”

“Fancy dates. Roses. Wine, champagne. Jewelry. Lingerie,” she shrugged.

“So… not this?” He waved his hand around and Sansa wasn’t sure if he was talking about the diner or him.

“No, not this. I like this, though. Lot less pressure.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Jon looked at her and she felt herself forgetting all about her resolution and the handful of months she had left. She almost leaned across the table to kiss him, but she broke eye contact instead.

“Hey,” she said suddenly, trying to diffuse whatever she was feeling crackling between them. “What if we make this our tradition?”

“What?”

“Every Valentine’s Day that we’re both single, we come here that way we won’t really be spending it alone.”

“You think you’ll still be single next Valentine’s Day?” Jon scoffed.

“You think you will?” Sansa countered.

“With my track record? I’d put money on you dating some hedge fund heir and me halfway through a six-pack.”

“Well, you’re wrong,” she professed, biting into a strawberry.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Sure.”

“Why do you think you’re destined to be alone?” Sansa asked before she could stop herself.

“Why are you so sure I’m not?”

“Jon… I…” she trailed off, chewing on her cheek. How could she possibly tell him? “Look, you know my relationships haven’t been great, right?”

“I don’t think that’s how Robb or Arya described it.”

“Whatever, you know what I mean. You know how I finally realized that they were toxic? You.”

“What?” he breathed.

“How you looked at her… Acted around her. None of my boyfriends ever looked at me like that. They never behaved around me the way you did around her. It was so obvious that you were happy together, and I never felt that. When I broke up with the last one, I told myself that the next guy I would date would be as good as you are,” she shrugged. As she spoke, her fingers tore a napkin to shreds.

“Sansa…”

“That’s how I know. You’re my barometer. Jon-ometer,” she joked, trying to hide the emotion in her voice.

“I… I don’t…” he whispered.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

“Okay,” he said. “Next year, _if_ we’re both single, we’ll come back here together.”

* * *

Sansa was overly aware of the feeling of Jon behind her as she unlocked the door. She could feel his warmth and she kept thinking of how red he turned at the diner at the idea of them dating. She had to ignore it though. She still had a few months left and Jon was just stood up a few hours ago.

Plus, she had to check on Rickon and make sure he hadn’t smuggled a girl into the house.

“Well, good night, Sansa,” Jon whispered outside his door. Sansa glanced at him, feeling that softness again that she felt earlier.

“Good night, Jon,” she said before walking over to Rickon’s door and opening it without knocking.

“Sansa, what the hell!” he groaned, flinging a pillow at the door.

“Just checking that you’re alone still. Did you leave the house?”

“Could you prove it if I did?”

“You didn’t drink my wine, did you?”

“Of course, I didn’t. I told you, I don’t even like sweet wine.”

“Right, of course,” she mumbled, walking into the room.

“Dude, privacy?”

“I’m just checking.” She glanced under the bed and in the closet. “Good night! I’ll tell Mum and Dad you were an angel.”

“Well, don’t do that. They’d think I bribed you.”

Sansa rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her.

* * *

**ONE YEAR LATER**

Sansa had texted Jon earlier in the week asking if he was single. He responded with: _Diner on Valentine’s Day?_ and she almost giggled.

Last year, she’d made an effort to look cute for Jon, but this year she wanted more. She’d been single for nearly two years and she knew for sure what she felt now.

When she showed up at the diner, she had to wonder if Jon thought the same, because he was in dressier clothes than she remembered him being in last year.

He was sitting in the same booth they had last year.

“Hiya, dearies. Can we interest you in the Valentine’s Day special?”

“Yes, please,” Jon answered and Sansa grinned at him, butterflies swirling in her stomach. “So. Here we are,” Jon said once the waitress left.

“I told you I’d still be single.”

“And I would be half way through a six pack if we didn’t have this plan.”

“No one on your radar?” she hedged. Jon looked at her and she felt herself blushing.

“I dunno,” he muttered, not looking away. “What about you?”

“There’s someone,” she whispered, holding his eyes, except Jon suddenly looked down.

“Oh. Right,” he mumbled. “What’s he like?” he asked after the waitress brought the plate of pancakes.

“Perfect,” she shrugged, still looking at him. “He’s kind. He’s completely different from everyone else I’ve ever dated.”

“Good. I’m glad.” He still wasn’t looking at her.

“Jon,” she murmured, knocking her knee against his. “The guy’s you.”

“ _What_?”

“You’re the best guy I’ve ever met. No one else will ever measure up.”

“Sansa, I’m really not…”

“You are, Jon.”

“You…me?”

“I almost kissed you last year on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I’d sworn off guys for a year… You’d just been stood up. Things didn’t seem right,” she shrugged.

“Why’d you wait until now to tell me?”

“I wanted to be sure about what I felt.”

“And you are? You’re sure?”

“I am. You give me butterflies, Jon.”

“You’ve always given me butterflies,” he said quietly.

“What?”

“Ever since I’ve met you… I have butterflies whenever I’m around you, but you were always dating someone and then… You took your year off. After what Robb and Arya told me, I didn’t want to mess with any of that. But, yeah. You give me butterflies, too.”

“Oh,” she breathed, as his knee settled against hers.

* * *

Jon walked her to her car, her arm linked through his.

“So, uh, what’re you doing this weekend?” she asked, leaning against her car door.

“You asking me out, Sansa?”

“Maybe,” she grinned, biting her lip to try to contain the joy she felt.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered, smiling back. Sansa thought her butterflies were going to come out of her mouth. No one had ever asked her that before.

“Of course you can, Jon,” she breathed, leaning in and meeting him halfway.

She saw stars and hearts and everything else you were supposed to feel.

She felt warm and safe and whole.

She felt love.


End file.
